After a separation

Automatically saved draft

Violence by men against women is an important social problem.

(Bild: Tinnakorn - stock.adobe.com)

On Saturday, a 71-year-old man shot his ex-wife (61) in Ebensee, injured her and then killed himself. The reason: the separation. This is not an isolated case, because time and again men are unable to cope with the end of relationships and resort to violence.

A look at the statistics shows this: 27 women were murdered in Austria in 2024, plus 41 attempted murders or serious violence. But why is it almost exclusively men who completely lose their temper? The answer is not simple, as experts emphasize. However, there are certain parameters that lead to love suddenly turning into hate and violence. Unlike women, many men have no friends with whom they can talk about their feelings.

The most important thing in counseling is that men take responsibility for their actions. The wife or girlfriend was not to blame and neither was their own life story.

Richard Schneebauer, Männerberatung des Landes

Fear of loss and possessiveness
"80 percent don't have a best friend," says Richard Schneebauer, head of men's counseling in Upper Austria. Added to this are old role models and an inability to deal with frustration. An explosive mixture when it comes to a break-up. "The fear of loss, of being alone and possessiveness are very dangerous," Schneebauer knows from his work.

In the event of a break-up, many men believe that they have completely failed as a man. They then no longer have power over the relationship. Some are a ticking time bomb in such situations.

Josef Hölzl, Gewalt- und Lebensberater bei der Diözese Linz

Josef Hölzl from the men's counseling service of the Diocese of Linz attests that many of his fellow men "lack emotional skills". "Added to this is the fear of having completely failed as a man because of a break-up," says Hölzl. And for some, violence seems to be the only way out.

"It wasn't the circumstances that were to blame"
The counseling service offers workshops at schools and men's groups, many of whom now come voluntarily or are sent by the court. First and foremost, they discuss why the men are the ones who have struck. "They have to take responsibility. The circumstances were not to blame. The wife or girlfriend was not to blame and their own life story is not responsible either," says Schneebauer.